Year 888

"Why did you abandon the Arcania Kingdom, Vlad?"

The Galarian Slowbro turned to his Skuntank apprentice as he busied himself over his workstation, mixing bubbling concoctions. Liquid dripped over the rim of one vial, spilling over his hand and hitting the table. Though his skin remained unharmed, the liquid melted a hole through the table and dripped over the floor.

"They saw my experiments as unethical." Vlad narrowed his eyes. "Hypocrites. Performing experimentation on oneself has been the cornerstone of Arcania's magic. I aimed to go beyond the surface. There's so much more alchemy can do, yet they refuse to push the limits."

Plouton glared. "Your attempts to create biological weapons, you mean."

Vlad smirked. "Science isn't your friend. If the world didn't push the boundaries of the visible world, we'd still be stuck in the savage lands clawing at rock like cave monsters. It is my duty as an alchemist to break down the fundamentals of this world and claw deeper and deeper until we've reached its core. And even then, beyond the core itself, there is a world still waiting to be discovered."

Plouton scratched his chin. "Hmm, I see. So, you believe that you are doing the world a favor by pushing the boundaries they refuse to explore."

"Arcania always played it safe with their alchemy. Even with the practice of manipulating one's biology, standards and limitations are set in place. Testing, procedures, routines, bleh. It's all the same monotony that drove a wedge between the king and me. So, I might have broken a few laws in secret, like capturing enemy soldiers and performing experiments on them with untested potions. There was never a short supply of Subterrans."

Plouton crossed his forelegs over the table. "You truly are a visionary."

"Oh, don't start with that nonsense. I'm just doing my part in the name of science. You should do the same."

He laughed bitterly. "Someone like me? Tell that to my professors who said I was too volatile. No one ever gave me the time of day, unable to appreciate my genius. They were just jealous of my brilliant mind."

Vlad smirked. "Unappreciated talent can go a long way. That's the problem with ethics: they always get in the way of the truth. You shouldn't rely on spineless cowards to tell you how to pursue your passions."

"Then how do you propose I make a name for myself?"

"Who said anything about getting your name out there? What's the point? What's the rush? Some of the greatest minds are those who operate in the shadows. I'm just an agent of chaos spreading the plague." Vlad snickered. "But, if you're looking to improve, I may know someone you can practice under."

"Do tell."

"Cain Underhill. Brilliant surgeon. He's amassed a collection of bodies greater than what I've infected. If you want to improve your own alchemy, I suggest putting your talents to use as his apprentice."

Plouton smirked back. "An intriguing offer. Where do I sign up?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

Amos and Phoebe went on the defensive as they ran away from the rampaging smoke phantom, whose steps incinerated the snow and earth with noxious fumes. The lights across his body shined brighter than ever, illuminating the area in a red glow.

"Flee, you worthless inferiors!" Plouton roared. "To dare challenge me, yet you still run and hide! I thought you wanted to fight! Phosphorus Cannon!" He lit up the eyes across his body and fired them into a single, massive laser that carved through the earth itself.

Amos blasted down his Sandstorm and grabbed Phoebe, propelling themselves into the air. The laser nearly nicked Amos' stinger as it ripped across the earth, leaving a searing canyon in its wake. "Teleport!" He and Phoebe warped out of the sky.

Plouton's dozens of eyes flickered about trying to find the missing duo. "What good will hiding do? I'll chase you both to the ends of the earth!"

"Rock Cluster Bullet!"

Plouton looked up, spotting the duo hovering high in the air where Phoebe fired her rifle. The bullet pierced through Plouton's body before it completely disintegrated, striking the ground and tearing apart his smoky body in an array of sharp rocks.

Phoebe loaded another bullet. "You'll have to chase us down to Hell, you smog-spewing dumbass!" She fired another Rock Cluster Bullet, creating towering spires of rock that ripped apart more of Plouton's body.

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Plouton pulled himself together as the rocks disintegrated beneath him. He focused his form and blasted into the air like smoke spewing from a geyser.

Amos darted his eyes and used Teleport to relocate out of the way. After he and Phoebe landed, the Aipom loaded another bullet and fired, this time firing a Hurricane-infused bullet that scattered Plouton's body apart. With the skunk briefly destabilized, the duo took off running.

"Okay, so! I know we agreed to kill this bastard, but do we actually have a plan to do that?!" Phoebe yelled.

"Still working on it," Amos growled.

"Can you work a little faster?!"

"Do you want to die faster? Then I suggest not rushing me!"

"I'm starting to realize why you lost to a rookie thief all those months back!"

"Oh, shut up!"

Plouton recollected his form, unfazed by his brief scattering. His dozens of eyes locked onto the fleeing duo as he hovered along the air. He grinned. "Where do they think they're running? Phosphorus Cannon!" Lighting up all the corrupted eyes, he once again fired a devastating beam of condensed heat toward the ground.

The duo felt the heat on their backs and looked up just in time to see it hurtling toward them. Amos grabbed Phoebe and teleported out of the way before it smashed down atop the ground, carving through the earth with shockwaves radiating out. Even after the duo reappeared, they were blown back in an ocean of sand and snow, flailing through the opaque storm.

Plouton's eyes locked onto the obscured duo and fired off smaller Phosphorus Cannons, tracing them through the storm until he could incinerate everything.

Amos and Phoebe found their footing and landed, only to jump back as one of the lasers swept past them. "Lamecaster!" Phoebe gasped.

"I'm trying to find somewhere to teleport, hang on!" he yelled.

"Bwaaaaaahahahahaha!" They turned their heads up as a dark storm cloud covered in red eyes blanketed the visible sky above. "It's too late!" All the eyes concentrated their power and poured down a solid beam of condensed heat, enveloping the area in a harsh, blinding red.

"Screw it!" Amos grabbed Phoebe and blindly teleported out of the way.

The beam crashed down, boring a hole straight through the earth. Heat rose through cracks splitting over the land, swelling and bubbling before bursting into vicious geysers of flame. Upon their relocation, Amos and Phoebe took off running with the ruined land exploding behind them, threatening to swallow them in the carnage.

"Teleport us! Teleport!" Phoebe screamed.

"Teleport where?!" he yelled.

The tremors gradually stopped with a heavy dust filling the air behind them. As they slowed down to catch their breaths, a smoky set of claws swept from the side and nearly cleaved the duo in two had Amos not pulled themselves back in time. The claws, gaseous in nature, sliced through the ground like blades. The claws resembled spewing geysers of noxious gas, one touch capable of rending flesh through necrosis.

"Do you see it?" Plouton's voice boomed from above. "I have become alchemy itself! I have evolved beyond mortal tethers! I am truly the pinnacle of Pokémon!"

Phoebe aimed her rifle. "Bastard!" She fired, punching a hole through his head, which quickly reformed.

"You still defy me even knowing I am completely without weakness? What good are your weapons if there's nothing to kill? I am pure alchemy, foolish inferior!"

"Why you—" Before Phoebe could fire again, Amos grabbed her and teleported away.

Plouton smirked. "They never learn. They never will learn."

Amos and Phoebe reappeared further away, hiding behind a mound of earth. Amos peeked around, glaring as the gaseous skunk continued his pursuit. "It won't be long before he finds us."

Phoebe fumbled through her bag, inspecting whatever bullets she had. "Most of his body is flammable, right? Maybe one Blaze Bullet will—"

"If it were that easy, he wouldn't be getting so close. Besides, with the amount of heat he expels with those attacks, he should've ignited himself by now."

She glared. "So, what are we even doing? He has no weak spot to exploit."

"But this can't be something like magic. Remember, no matter how strange this looks to us, he continues to claim it's science. Weird science to us, but still science."

Phoebe scoffed. "So, what? We're going to observe him and write a thesis about how he can kill everything?"

"For one, what is making a death cloud sentient?" He peeked around cover again. "He infused himself with more of Alpha's kind. That's the key to this whole transformation. They're screaming. Alpha was worried about them. They never wanted this." He glared. "So, we just need to break the connection."

Phoebe loaded her rifle. "Easier said than done. Again, we can't even hit him. He's the world's biggest moving target, yet nothing we do leaves lasting damage."

Amos crossed his arms. "Caractacus can remotely activate his inventions using Neutral Influence. There's a reason behind that. Something can't happen without an external input. If Plouton's body has been completely destroyed, what's left of him that's manipulating this death cloud?"

Phoebe groaned. "You're overthinking this."

"I'm being thorough. We can't rush into this." He glared. "Now, unless you want to keep making snappy comments, I suggest you help me think."

"…" Phoebe peeked around cover, then frowned. "Uh, Lamecaster. Where'd Smoky go?"

Amos spun his head around, seeing no sign of the giant smoke skunk. He frowned. "Oh no."

"Oh no, indeed~."

The duo, without a moment's hesitation, split apart as a giant set of gaseous claws hammered down on their cover, reducing the earth mound into a smoldering pile of sludge. Plouton, hovering about as a giant cloud, extended more claws from his form and swiped at the land to cut down the separated duo.

"Teleport!" Amos vanished and attempted to get to Phoebe, but narrowly avoided another set of claws dragging through the earth.

"Don't you see how easy this is for me? My mind is erupting with power! I've never had this much clarity! I can see the whole of alchemy in its entirety! I am without equal!"

Phoebe skipped backwards, getting out of the claws' range, and aimed her rifle. "Blaze Bullet!" She fired a bullet wreathed in flame straight through the smoke cloud.

An explosion occurred on the surface, but was instantly extinguished after. Plouton's face formed within the cloud, sneering at the angry Aipom. "Ooooh, I think I actually felt that one! Excellent work, Phoebe Burkhard!"

"Oh, just keep taunting me, asshole! No matter what form you take, I'm going to rip you to shreds!"

"Sandstorm Rapid Fire!" Amos teleported around Plouton and unloaded a barrage of sand bullets into the sentient cloud. While the shots had no effect, they split apart within and attempted to map out the gaseous skunk's form. However, the sand disintegrated mere seconds after entering.

"What was that suppose to do?" Plouton swiped his claws, firing a corrosive slash at the Gligar.

Amos flung himself out of the way on a gust of sand and dove back down to Phoebe. The two turned and hightailed it with Plouton raining down lasers after them.

"Teleport us again!" she yelled.

Amos tried to activate Teleport, but winced as the power fizzled away. "Shit! I'm out!"

"Good!" Plouton cackled as poisonous spikes ejected from his back, raining down over the earth. "Now the real fun can begin!"

Energy pulsed out from the spikes, traveling across the earth. The moment the energy passed under Amos and Phoebe, the ground collapsed into dust beneath them. Unable to regain their balance, they plummeted into a massive sinkhole of dark sand that swirled down to the center. Rows of crystal-like spikes emerged from the center, crushing up any rock that came near them.

"What the hell?!" Phoebe screamed, swimming against the currents with the grace of a drowning Darmanitan.

Amos tried to pull himself free and take flight, but the dark sand kept splashing into his face and knocking him back down. He spat and flailed to keep his head above the surface. "How are—"

"I told you already! I am alchemy itself! I can see the world as symbols and equations! I rule this world! A world to be redesigned in my image!"

Amos pulled his pincer gun free and fired more sand bullets into the sentient cloud. Once again, it amounted to nothing with the gaseous Skuntank still laughing at his futile efforts. Annoyed, Amos slotted a bullet into his pincer and took aim.

"Electromagnetic Bullet!"

However, instead of aiming at Plouton, he plunged his pincer through the vortex and fired, releasing a magnetic blast wave that completely uplifted the ground. He and Phoebe were thrown out of the vortex and back onto solid ground.

Plouton cackled. "Impressive! But you still haven't grasped the power I wield!" He waved his gaseous forelegs like he was about to perform a spell. "Observe, inferiors!"

Amos and Phoebe turned back toward the vortex as purple crystal grew out of the sand, spreading over the ground. It started as a slow reaction before rapidly gaining speed, spreading over the earth like flooding water. Giant clusters of crystal spires erupted from the encroaching crystal, tearing through rock and ice in its way.

The duo took off running, but the crystal caught up in seconds. They felt the tremors of crystal spires getting closer and closer behind them, forcing them to split and avoid being skewered upon them.

In a matter of seconds, an entire forest of crystal emerged from the ground. Twisting, crackling spires with bent branches, mounds resembling diamonds, and entire hills of jagged, sharp edges as far as the eye could see. In the distance, the crystal continued to spread, reaching as wide as an average village.

And at the center of it all, curled around the mountain of all crystals, was Plouton. His many eyes gleamed upon his captured prey as they scurried about within the crystalline labyrinth.

"Summoned and shaped merely with a thought!" Plouton taunted. "Still think your inferior minds hold a candle to mine?"

Ignoring the gaseous skunk's rant, Amos ran through the twisting crystal forest, shouting, "Phoebe, where are you?"

"Oh, you know, taking a jaunty walk in the prettiest murder forest I've ever been in! Where do you think I am, dumbass?!"

He growled. "Keep insulting me! I'm going to follow your voice!"

"Don't give me permission in one go!"

Amos slapped his tail down and took flight. However, crystal shards fired from the spires, shattering on impact and sniping him out of the air. "AGH!" He plummeted back onto the ground, screeching as he slid across rougher terrain.

"Who gave you permission to leave?" Plouton roared. "You're in my world now, and I decide how you leave!" He focused his many eyes and fired smaller Phosphorus Cannons into the crystals.

The beams bounced between the spires like mirrors, expertly traversing the crystal until it found its way to Amos. Amos, noticing a second early, threw himself out of the way as the beam struck the ground and reflected into the sky.

His ears twitched, detecting more beams firing from within the crystal forest. He ran as beams rained down all around him, unrelenting in their chase until they either dissipated or fired off into the sky. He slid, jumped, and skipped through a web of lasers erratically appearing in and out of sight. One clipped him on the side, leaving a faint but stinging burn.

"Ack…!" He dragged his mechanical pincer through the crystal, breaching the earth underneath and summoning up a sandstorm to conceal himself.

As Amos went on the evasive, Phoebe continued running for her life as Plouton sent out an array of crystal spikes to skewer her. From the ground or existing spires, every conceivable surface was another danger zone to rip her to shreds. Even with Detect keeping her ahead, the sheer quantity of crystal spikes chasing her down sent her nerves skyrocketing.

"EEEK!" she shrieked as one nearly tore across her cheek.

Plouton focused on the fleeing Aipom and laughed. "Who was going to rip who apart again?"

"I liked you better when you were squishy and killable!" she yelled. She turned and ducked under an alcove of crystal to get out of his sight.

"You can't hide from me, inferior!" Plouton raised his paw, causing the inside of the alcove to burst open with an explosive growth of crystal.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Phoebe, riding atop the largest crystal, flew into the air after being ejected off. Her rifle nearly slipped out of her harness, but she grabbed it with her tail and aimed upward as she fell. "Die, die, die!" She fired once, punching out his eye briefly before it reshaped.

"Idiot!" Plouton taunted, swiping his corrosive claws at her.

Phoebe stretched her tail out, hooking onto a spire, and threw herself out of his claws' reach. She stashed her rifle and whipped out her wind cleaver as more crystal extended after her. "Hi-YA!" She spun on her hands after landing, gripping the broken sword in her tail, and slashed up the crystals with invisible wind slashes.

Like serpents striking from underground, crystal spikes grew in numbers, targeting the lone Aipom. Phoebe balanced on her hands and broke into an erratic, dance-like spin while wildly swinging the wind cleaver. All around, the invisible slashes tore through the crystal in droves, scattering pieces like falling rain and chunks of hail.

"WA-TA!" She finished off with a whip-like snap of her tail, firing an extra potent wind slash that sliced Plouton's foreleg off.

"Heh!" Plouton quickly reformed the missing foreleg. "Has the clown finished her performance?"

A rainbow light flashed in Phoebe's eye. She smirked. "Time's up. Maelstrom Cleave—" She spun on her hands again, winding up her wind cleaver as a great concentration of air swirled around her. "Hyper VOICE!" She slashed, firing a powerful blade of sonic cutting power that carried her cry through the air.

It impacted the center of Plouton's massive body, the fierce winds ripping apart his form. Plouton, for once startled by an attack, gasped as his form was blown apart and scattered through the air. His shouts echoed along the crystal forest, singing their delightful melodies to the smug Aipom.

"Ooohoooohooo! That one got you rattled, eh?! What's the matter, smart guy? Didn't see that one coming—huh?"

Phoebe stopped taunting and squinted as the gas started recollecting itself. As she focused on the sky, she could've sworn the gas was gathering toward a red star that shined noticeably in the dark. However, before she could ponder too long over it, the gas reformed into Plouton's face.

He was not happy.

"Proud of yourself, Phoebe Burkhard? Congratulations, you managed to create an attack strong enough to scatter me for a moment. You must feel so accomplished." He snarled. "You've evaded death long enough."

"…" Phoebe narrowed her eye and smirked. "So have you." Mockingly waving her wind cleaver at him, she dropped onto all fours and took off running.

"You can't escape my crystal! It's futile!" He turned his attention completely off Amos, now considering Phoebe to be the main threat. He rained down a barrage of lasers into the crystal, flooding every inch of her side in incinerating light.

Phoebe activated Metronome again and applied it to her wind cleaver. She laughed. "Oh, it seems luck is laughing at you, Plooty!"

"You dare defile my name?!"

"Maelstrom Cleave—" Right as the lasers were about to claim her, she slashed across the ground and raised a tower of crystal to fling herself above their searing wrath. "Rock Climb!"

"Fool!" Plouton spawned mobile clouds from his body, each one possessing a sparking red eye, and commanded them to chase her down.

Phoebe landed as the lasers dissipated into each other and dodged the clouds as they rained their own, weaker Phosphorus Cannons at her. She activated Detect to keep ahead of them, jumping and skipping off spires to throw off their aim.

"Maelstrom Cleave—" She applied the energy through the wind cleaver and swung back around. "Glare!" She sliced into half of the clouds, the stunning force of her slash paralyzing them. She leapt over them as the other half continued the chase.

Plouton swiped his paw down and reclaimed the clouds. "You only live as long as you do because I find your futile efforts to survive entertaining!"

Phoebe smirked over her shoulder. "Whatever keeps that airheaded ego of yours from getting bruised!"

Plouton raised his claws and brought down a blanket of smog over the crystal forest. "I'll bury you in poison!"

Phoebe, with nowhere to run, took hold of her wind cleaver and readied herself. "Maelstrom Cleave: Thunder Wave!" With the randomly selected move, she spun and created a cyclone of electricity around herself, punching a hole through the smog. She rode the winds, leaping above the poison and coming face-to-face with Plouton's sentry clouds.

"Incinerate her!" Plouton ordered.

However, before they could fire, a fierce sandstorm erupted from the other side of the crystal forest, smashing into Plouton's back. The high-speed pressure of the storm tore apart the gaseous skunk's torso, causing him to lose concentration.

The sentry clouds stopped charging, allowing Phoebe to land on a spire and dash away to safety. She glared as Plouton reformed himself, starting from the neck. "Hmm…" She raced across the spires, tracing the sandstorm to its point of origin.

Amos let up on the attack just as the Aipom arrived. "Thought you could use an assist."

"You thought right," she teased.

Plouton reformed his body and raised his claws. "Kill them!" His remaining sentries flew over the forest and fired down their lasers.

Phoebe activated Metronome again. "Okay, let's try this! Maelstrom Cleave: Aura Wheel!" She sliced, curving the air into a ring of red and blue aura to block the lasers. The high-speed rotation of the barrier caused the lasers to misfire, redirecting into the crystal and bouncing uncontrollably.

Plouton shielded himself as the lasers rebound in his direction. "AGH!" The beams burned holes through his body, blowing apart his head and neck in the process. Fiery smog rained over the crystal forest, spreading flames along the poison-made crystal.

Amos flung some sand to keep the flames at bay. As he and Phoebe backed away, they watched Plouton reform himself once again. Phoebe once again focused on the irate skunk as he reformed his head first, spotting the distinct red glow obscured underneath.

After reforming most of his body, Plouton snatched the sentries out of the air, holding the eyes within his paw. "Insolent creatures! You obey me now, remember? I do not tolerate mistakes! You will do as you're instructed! Another slip-up like that…!" He curled his paw and unleashed violent red sparks that caused the eyes to scream incoherently.

Amos' eyes widened. "Oh my Arceus…"

Phoebe growled. "That sick, fucking…!"

Plouton ceased torturing the assimilated eyes and fully absorbed them back into his body. He smirked at his prey. "Terribly sorry for the interruption. We won't be having any more of that."

Amos glared. "Not only did you force those creatures to bond with you, but you have the gall to torture them for your own ineptitude?"

"They are assimilated with me, thus they should no better than to make mistakes." Black smog erupted from his maw. "They are tools that should know their place."

Phoebe forced a grin. "How truly pathetic. No wonder you've been a lackey your whole life. You wouldn't know how to treat your underlings." She nudged Amos. "Look at this idiot, Amos. His outside matches his inside. Nothing but an airhead with a single braincell to work with."

Amos' eyes widened. Wait, she didn't call me Lamecaster?

He studied the look the Aipom was giving her, then followed her gaze up to the raging skunk. Was Phoebe already seeing a way to beat Plouton? In fact, Plouton seemed particularly angry after getting his head blown off. Why would he get angry if he was unkillable?

Because Plouton wasn't actually unkillable.

Amos glared. "What's the plan?" he whispered.

She smirked. "You fight, I'll piss him off."

"Sound plan." He smacked his tail down and took flight on his sandstorm. "Sandstorm Rapid Fire!" He fired into Plouton as he circled through the air.

"Take him down!" Plouton slammed his paw down, spraying crystal needles through the air.

More prepared, Amos swept the air and rained down sand bullets to destroy the crystals all at once. He climbed higher into the air, firing into Plouton with greater vigor. Plouton continued firing crystal from his self-made forest, littering the sky in a sharp rain.

With his attention off Phoebe, she bounced across the spires to get closer, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Mocking Whisper." She projected her voice up to Plouton, whispering, "That's right, you never had what it took to be a big shot. That's why you prided yourself on being Cain's test subject. A little brown-nosing loser who needed power to obtain power."

Plouton's many eyes refocused on Phoebe. "I know what you're trying to do, Phoebe Burkhard. It's useless!" He waved his paw, commanding his spires to fire crystal needles at her, too.

Phoebe activated Detect to get around the attack while keeping Mocking Whisper active. "Science this, science that. Honestly, if you gave half a shit about what you were saying, you could've done something productive with your time. Making cures to diseases, advancing life through commodities, or literally anything else. But noooo, you wanted to progress science by being a mass murdering psycho. Wow, how original."

"I said SILENCE!" Plouton sprayed his Death Fog over the crystal forest, blanketing so much of it that the Aipom had nowhere to escape to.

"Maelstrom Cleave: Kinesis!" A bending slash of wind ripped through the Death Fog, creating a safe space for Phoebe to stand in as the fog petered out. She reactivated Mocking Whisper and said, "It's like you took one look of the world and decided you were superior because you think you had the first original thought about how shitty everything is. Hate to burst your bubble, but you're just a loser who failed science and wanted to prove his teachers wrong. Nothing complex, just like you."

Plouton roared, covering his ears and trembling. "SHUT UP! GET OUT OF MY HEAD, YOU INFERIOR!"

Phoebe smirked. "Inferior, inferior, inferior. I suppose you're a decent enough alchemist, but learn some new words, dipshit. You mediocre, second-rate, wannabe shit cloud!"

Plouton opened up all his eyes and aimed them at the Aipom. "I'LL BURN YOU!"

"Sandstorm!"

Plouton staggered from a harsh blast of sand across his back. Amos roared, pouring on the full might of his sand control until Plouton's form dispersed through the air. He waved his pincers, commanding the sand to push away more of the smog. His eyes glinted with success.

"So, that's what you've been hiding."

Floating in the air ahead of him was a ceramic-like, red orb with hexagonal eye patterns making up the surface. Black chains with a red, internal glow wrapped around the orb as energy spilled out from the individual edges of the surface. The screams they were hearing were even louder up close.

Amos growled. "Cain made a vessel to house your consciousness inside, and you use the energy of these creatures to recreate your techniques on a wider scale." He opened his pincer blade. "You should've just said this was magic, but your ego wouldn't allow it."

Energy spilled out in greater volumes as Plouton's voice roared from inside the vessel. "LANCASTER!"

"Your stubborn devotion to science will be your downfall!" Amos dove for the orb.

"NO!" Gas swirled around the orb and quickly expanded in Death Fog.

Amos stopped himself and created a curtain of sand before being swept up in the gas. His sand rapidly disintegrated in close proximity, but he managed to throw himself out of range in time. He watched as the gas reformed completely around the orb, taking on the shape of Plouton once more.

"Phosphorus Cannon!" He focused his eyes together and fired a massive laser straight at the Gligar.

Amos flung himself toward the ground, narrowly avoiding the laser as it incinerated through the earth, leaving behind a scorching canyon. He loaded his pincer and fired several shots into the gaseous skunk.

"Drill Bullet!"

Spiraling forces erupted around the bullets, piercing through Plouton without compromising the bullet itself. Massive holes burst open over the skunk's form, one ripping apart half his face. He recollected himself and fired off poisonous stingers from his back.

"Die in acid!"

The needles struck the crystal forest, causing a reaction to rapidly melt it into a bubbling swamp. Phoebe flipped off the ground before the reaction reached her. "Maelstrom Cleave—" She empowered her sword and swung, blasting herself into the air with the recoil. "Focus Energy!"

Plouton produced smoky tendrils from his body and plunged them into the acidic swamp. With a demonic roar, sludgy arms reached out from the swamp and attempted to grab the airborne Aipom.

"Maelstrom Cleave—" She empowered her wind cleaver again, smirking with triumph. "Fire Lash!" She swung, igniting the air with whip-like flames. Through her rapid slashing movements, she fired off long, winding slashes that lacerated Plouton's attack and sent fiery wind blades that sliced up his body.

Plouton, even with his body exploding from the flames, remained undeterred. His anger continued to rise as his gas evaporated into the sky, transforming itself into dark clouds. "BURN!" A harsh rain poured from the clouds.

Amos landed and shielded himself from the rain. He winced, the liquid compound stinging his skin. His eyes widened as his skin started catching fire. "Phoebe! Get out of the rain!"

Phoebe yelped as her fur started catching fire. Using the last of her flaming whip, she blasted herself away from the acidic swamp and landed on safer ground. "Maelstrom Cleave—" She swung, releasing a pink powder that mixed with the air. She winced as the flames suddenly transformed into psionic flames. "Okay, Magic Powder made it worse!"

"Burn! All of you…will BURN!" Plouton poured more gas into the air, creating a stronger downpour over the land.

Amos and Phoebe covered their heads, screaming as their bodies caught fire. Amos struggled to his feet and cast Sandstorm, blowing away the rain. "Not this time!" He poured on the Sandstorm to its maximum, reaching as high as the clouds and stirring up the storm.

Plouton focused his eyes on Amos and readied Phosphorus Cannon. Phoebe sensed this and readied her wind cleaver. "Maelstrom Cleave: Thunder Shock!" She fired an electrified slash through the rain, slicing across Plouton's face

"AAAAAAGH!" Plouton roared, losing his focus.

Amos swung his arms and spread the sandstorm over the area, pushing away Plouton's artificial clouds. "No matter how many tricks you have, we won't stop fighting to save Evelot!"

Plouton guarded against the Gligar's storm, growling in frustration. "All but a pointless charade! You think that girl wants to be saved? No matter the outcome, you'll never reach her! Why do you keep insisting on this trite? That girl already chose her path! She is beyond saving!"

Amos growled. "Yeah? Well, so were we!" He slashed both his pincers down, creating a tight cyclone that crashed into Plouton.

"AAAGH!" Plouton's body unraveled in the cyclone. His core rocketed out from his head, carrying a dense fog trail, and reformed himself several meters away. "Death Fog!" He slammed his paws down, sending forth a massive wave of disintegrating black fog.

Amos flew over to Phoebe's side and yelled, "Together!"

She reared his wind cleaver back. "Right!"

"Sandstorm!"

"Maelstrom Cleave: Accelerock!"

Combining their attacks together, they fired a twister of rock and sand that pierced through the air ahead. It smashed into Plouton's death wave, breaking through the middle and dispersing it in the blast. Plouton jumped, avoiding the lacerating twister.

Plouton's expressions were hard to read in his gaseous form, but he was panicking.

Impossible. Me, in this form, becoming one with alchemy itself! How could I be losing to these inferiors? I've achieved ultimate power, yet they still persist. Why…Why can't I kill them?!

"I won't lose…to a bunch of nobodies from the Outlands!"

His body erupted violently, transforming into a volcanic-like smog bursting with purple flames. His form spread further and further through the air, towering above the duo and eclipsing the visible sky. The red eyes covering his body flickered and screamed as energy sprayed, barely able to contain itself.

"All of Virdis will fear the mind of Plouton! Do you hear me, you inferior scum?! Death Fog!" Plouton expelled geysers of black smoke from his body, releasing with such force that it shaved away the earth around him into dust.

Amos and Phoebe nodded at each other and jumped back. Amos sent out a sandstorm to clash with Plouton's Death Fog, the two fierce winds mixing and twisting into each other. Phoebe ran around the storm, wrapping her wind cleaver with energy.

"Maelstrom Cleave: Mach Punch!" She slashed, releasing a wind blade that cut through the air like a bullet.

It pierced the storm and shot through Plouton's neck. The gaseous skunk roared and fired down his Phosphorus Cannon.

"Maelstrom Cleave—" Phoebe empowered her blade again and unleashed a fierce wind slash that tripled in size. "Growth!"

The increased power cut the beam in two, barely protecting the Aipom as it burned through the ground around her. The blast sent her flying off her feet, flames and smoke erupting from below.

Plouton extended his foreleg after her. "Turn to dust, Burkhard!"

"Sandstorm!" Amos swung his arms and redirected Plouton's attack with a twister, ripping his foreleg away.

Plouton reformed it and ignited his claw with toxic flames. "You want to die that badly, Lancaster?!" He swung, slicing his claws through the ground.

Amos smacked his tail down and took flight, barely avoiding the attack. The toxic fumes filled the air, which he disappeared into.

Plouton sliced through the smoke, tearing apart the air itself and slamming his paws down in search of the Gligar. He poured out more of his Death Fog, shouting, "It doesn't make any sense! You're nobodies! Losers! The scum at the bottom of the barrel! I am a genius! The very height of brilliance! You're not supposed to win! Your kind is never supposed to win!"

"If you're so smart…" Plouton spun around as the Gligar drifted along the air. "Then why bother trying to prove yourself to the scum of the Outlands? What do you have to prove against losers like us?" He glared. "It's because, underneath all that brilliant intellect, you're just like the rest of us: a failure scorned by the world."

Plouton gnashed his smoky fangs. "Lancaster…"

"And that bruised ego of yours can't accept being lesser." Amos smirked. "Magni must've really touched a nerve. Guess even savages can outsmart the brilliant."

"Don't you dare sully my mind with the name of that worthless fucking beast!" All of Plouton's eyes lit up and unleashed the largest Phosphorus Cannon he ever produced, ripping apart his own body in the recoil. The laser enveloped Amos, washing out his form in the light.

The sheer power of Plouton's attack illuminated the night in a blinding flash, piercing through the clouds and disappearing into the heavens above.

Plouton faltered, his many eyes smoking. The glow flickered and faded with each breath the gaseous skunk took. His body, a tattered mess of gas, slowly rebuilt itself, its volatile form subsiding. His breaths, heavy and rhythmic, slowed as he regained control of his senses.

"I…will never…be outwitted…by an Outlander…" he growled.

…

…

…

"…You just were."

His eyes widened, shooting up toward the sky to find the Gligar still floating in the air, smoke wafting off his unharmed body. The gaseous skunk's jaw quivered as a fried metal disc fell off of Amos' chest, clattering onto the ground before him.

Amos smirked. "I figured those discs wouldn't do much good protecting us from the gas, so I saved it for later. Just in case. Don't forget, Caractacus is an Outlander, too. He's just not a homicidal maniac like you!" He wrapped his pincers with sand, then fired a massive twister at Plouton.

The skunk regained his senses and twisted his body to dodge it. He roared and lunged at the Gligar, flames spewing from his maw. "You missed, you incompetent zygote!"

"Did he, though?!"

Plouton stopped, suddenly feeling the wind stir behind him. All his eyes widened, locking onto Phoebe as she reared back her wind cleaver. A fierce storm combined with Amos' Sandstorm wrapped around the broken blade, commanding a twister that warped the atmosphere around her.

"That's the thing about you smart guy types! You think you can outsmart anyone just because you've got a big brain on your shoulders!" She smirked. "But you can't outsmart two dumbass psychotics like us!"

Plouton tried to activate Phosphorus Cannon, but the eyes weren't responding. "No, I burnt out my energy—"

"We're going to reach Evelot! We're going to bring her home! And then, we're getting the fuck out of Virdis!" She twisted her heel into the ground and tightened her muscles. "Maelstrom Cleave: Hurricane plus Sandstorm!"

With an upward slash, she released a massive wind blade, cutting Plouton straight up the middle with winds so fast that it distorted the air. Plouton screamed, feeling his body dispersing into the air as he desperately tried to hold himself together. The wind, however, was far too powerful, stronger than any other attack fired by the Aipom.

"GET WRECKED!"

As if her shouts empowered her attack further, Plouton screamed as the slash made one final push, ripping apart his body and sending the central core flying through the air.

"N-No! M-My body! I need to—" As Plouton tried to recollect himself, Amos suddenly flew in, snatching the orb out of the air and holding it hostage in his mechanical pincer. "A-A-AAAGH!"

Amos scowled at the orb. "Remember what you did to Ainsley and Magni?" His pincer blade extended out. "Now it's your turn."

"A…Amos Lancaster. P-Please. S-Spare me. Please. I-I'll do anything, I swear. Please! You don't know what you'll be taking away from me!"

"Tch. Do you know how many people I've murdered to get this far? What makes you think I'd spare you?"

"You…You…! LANCASTER! You think you've won?! You'll never reach Faucher in time! It's already the morning of Absalom's prophecy! She'll die the moment she reaches Harriet! You've lost! Even if MacGyver reaches her in time, she'll—"

"Pray there's no Hell for you, Plouton, because I see an eternity of torment in your future." He tossed the orb into the air.

"LANCAST—"

SHING, SHING, SHING, SHING, SHING!

Amos retracted his pincer blade and breathed a sigh of relief. The orb, hovering momentarily above his head, shattered into pieces, releasing a geyser of spectral blue light into the air.

After landing beside Phoebe, the duo looked up and observed as the energy disappeared into the air, fading away to who knows where. However, as they watched, the wind rustled around them, carrying vapors of the light around them. Their eyes widened as it tickled their ears, whispering two faint words for them alone.

Thank…you…

Amos and Phoebe took a step back as the light faded higher and higher into the sky above, decorating the clouds with a sea of stardust that reflected off their eyes. They stood there, their hearts momentarily at peace.

"Beautiful," Amos muttered, taking off his goggles.

Phoebe frowned. "Do you think those creatures are…gone?"

"Hard to say. But, if they were pure energy, then…I think some part of them is still out there. Just…in another form."

"Heh. Kind of makes you wonder if there really is a Heaven or Hell." She snickered. "I know where I'm going."

"Hmm." Amos frowned, looking into the distance solemnly.

Phoebe mirrored his expression. "All of that fighting, all this struggling, and we're still nowhere close to reaching Evelot." She sighed. "We can only hope Caractacus gets there in time."

"He's fast. I'm sure if he kept running, he could get to Algus in time. As for us? Even if we flew, we still wouldn't make it until the next morning."

Phoebe covered her face and sighed. "What are we going to do? No Magni, no way of getting to Evelot. Plouton was right. We'll never make it in time."

"…" Amos glanced at his mechanical pincer for a moment, then glared. "Evelot had to have been traveling for days. If she's anywhere near Mt. Algus, she must be exhausted. Even she knows she wouldn't be able to face Harriet in that condition."

"So?"

"Absalom said Evelot and Harriet fight today, but it's still a few hours before dawn. That means there's a chance we can get to her in time."

Phoebe scoffed. "What does dawn have to do with it?"

"Because that gives us a few hours to make use of our blanks and your Forced Drawing."

She scowled. "Lamecaster, what are you talking about? Using a Displace Bullet or something? We can't exactly control the direction we teleport toward, much less the distance. And even if we tried using Teleport again, neither of us are trained enough to go that far—"

"Remember the trick I pulled on Babylas to survive our battle?" Her eye widened as he pulled out a handful of blanks. "We're going to try something a little different."